In Armenia, Prime Minister Pashinyanʼs ruling party — “Civil Contract” — is leading in the parliamentary elections

In Armenia, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyanʼs ruling party “Civil Contract” is leading in the parliamentary elections.

This is reported by the Armenian news agency News.am.

According to exit polls cited by News.am, Pashinyanʼs party already has 32.7% of the vote. In second place is the pro-Russian Strong Armenia bloc of businessman Samvel Karapetyan with 29%.

The next place is occupied by the "Armenia" bloc of ex-president Robert Kocharyan, which receives 13.2% of support. Also overcoming the passing barrier are the parties "Prosperous Armenia" with 6.1% of the vote and "Wings of Unity" — 4.6%.

Together, all four opposition forces are gaining 52.9% of the vote, which could potentially help them claim a majority in parliament.

The Central Election Commission of Armenia is to announce the official voting results after the counting of all ballots is completed.

Elections in Armenia

Voting in the parliamentary elections in Armenia lasted from 08:00 to 20:00 at more than two thousand polling stations. 18 political forces — 16 parties and two blocs — participated in the elections. For the former, the threshold is 4%, for the latter — 8%. In total, there must be at least 101 deputies and three political parties in parliament.

2.486 million people were eligible to vote in the elections. According to the Central Election Commission of Armenia, the turnout was 58.97% — 1.477 million people voted. In the 2021 parliamentary elections, the turnout was lower — 49.4%.

The elections are taking place against a backdrop of political tensions between Armenia and Russia. Polls predict a victory for incumbent Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, whom Russia accuses of being pro-European. Because of this, Russia has already threatened the country with gas price hikes and has recently begun imposing restrictions on imports from the country.

Shortly before the elections, Russia and its allies demanded that Armenia hold a referendum on whether to join the European Union or the Eurasian Union. The countryʼs authorities refused, saying there were "no grounds" for this.

Reuters reported that the Russian authorities plan to bring nearly 100 000 Armenians living in Russia to Armenia for the elections, so that they can vote for Pashinyanʼs rivals.

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